The present invention relates to the grooves formed across the club face of golf clubs including irons, drivers, woods and particularly wedges.
Golf club wedges are usually designed with varying degrees of loft generally ranging from a minimum of about 48 degrees to a maximum of about 64 degrees. The varying degrees of loft help to control the trajectory and distance a golf ball will travel.
In play, especially with the higher numbered irons and wedges, control is obtained in part by means of backspin. At the time of impact, the golf ball is contacted against the club face with substantial deformation. Control of the ball in flight is partly exercised by backspin, and more control is obtained on the initial bounce (i.e., the ball will “bite” or hold the surface better after the initial bounce) when the ball has the proper backspin. Thus, the higher the rate of backspin, the greater the control.
To achieve backspin, multiple grooves are cut across the club face of a golf club. These grooves grip the ball momentarily upon impact as it is driven, which in turn generates backspin on the ball. By and large, the most popular and common groove configurations employed today are the V-shape and square shape. Although these conventional configurations succeed in creating backspin, it is desirable to impart more spin to golf balls so that greater control can be achieved. While the V-shape is used, it is commonly used so that a golf club set contains either all V-shape or all square shape.
Having all grooves identical is a performance compromise that prior art golf club manufacturers were previously unaware of because the V-shape groove is not suited for all clubs in a set to maximize performance. The square shaped groove however also has many deficiencies, the largest being the cuts and shear produced on the cover of a golf ball leading to premature failure of a golf ball.